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Format

Each episode of Mr. Show consists of a series of sketches, at times surreal,[1] each one transitioning to the next by a link in a manner reminiscent of Monty Python's Flying Circus or The State.[2][3][4] For example, a minor character in one sketch might return as the major character in the next. Often, common themes or storylines are returned to at different times throughout an episode. As a premium cable show, its audience was limited. DVD editions, however, have opened the show to a broad new audience.[5][6]

Every episode begins with an individual introducing the hosts. This role was filled by Mary Lynn Rajskub in the first two seasons. After her departure for personal reasons,[7] the introduction was made by a random character from that week's episode.

Episode titles were mostly quotes from the episode. For example, "Bush Is a Pussy" is written on a T-shirt worn by one of the characters. One of the exceptions is "Eat Rotten Fruit from a Shitty Tree", which is a line in a song within the episode that was eventually performed as an instrumental.

Many of the show's sketches were constructed with a strong critique of modern television in mind, whether it be local news, sitcoms, commercials, infomercials, reality shows, or music videos.[]

Contributors

Mr. Show's main cast for the entire run consisted of David Cross, John Ennis, Tom Kenny, Bob Odenkirk, and Jill Talley. Cross, Ennis, and Odenkirk appeared in each season. Kenny left the show after the third season, returning for one episode of season four. Talley appeared in all episodes except for four towards the end of the third season, which she missed due to pregnancy.[]Jay Johnston, a featured performer throughout the series, was credited as a member of the main cast for the final episode of the show.

Hollywood Said No!: Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show

In September 2013, Grand Central Publishing released Hollywood Said No!, a book of rejected scripts and unused Mr. Show sketches. The audiobook version included full cast readings by former Mr. Show performers and writers. One of the rejected scripts is the original version of Hooray for America!, which had earlier been adapted as part of the Mr. Show Live tour.[16]

Legacy

While the show was never viewed by a mass audience due to its premium cable broadcast, it remains an influential American sketch comedy. Many involved with the show went on to become staples of American comedy.

In January 2011, IFC began airing 90-minute blocks of Mr. Show, The Ben Stiller Show, Action and The Larry Sanders Show three times per week.[10] The programming block was often hosted by Mr. Show writer and actor Scott Aukerman, who also conducted new interviews with the shows' contributors and younger comedians who have been influenced by the shows.[10] The song Adam's Song by American alternative rock band Blink-182 got its name as a tribute/reference to a sketch from the show about a band that writes a song by the same name with similar lyrical content. This was confirmed by Cross in an interview, who said "They were fans of the show and that was a knowing tribute that I thought was pretty cool."[17]

David's Situation

Odenkirk and Cross reunited in 2008 to create the HBO pilot David's Situation, which was shot but never aired or picked up.[8][18] The network gave the pair $400,000 to shoot a pilot (which was shot on the Everybody Loves Raymondsoundstage), which appeared to go well during the taping; however, while Cross and Odenkirk were editing the episode, they felt it failed to "capture that same energy on screen."[19] In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cross said, "We told them that we didn't want to do this show, we'd rather do Mr. Show 2.0. And they were like, 'Yeah, O.K., that's great, but the thing is, we don't have any more money for this year. But we'll figure out something next year.' And we never heard from them again."[19]

Episodes

The four episodes of the first season premiered in November 1995. The second season aired a year later, for six episodes, which continued into December. The third season included 10 episodes, spread out from September to December 1997. The ten final season episodes aired from October to December 1998.[22]

Revival

In April 2015, Netflix acquired Mr. Show and put in an order for four half-hour episodes and one hour-long "making-of" special.[23] The announcement was a followup to a Twitter post from Paul F. Tompkins teasing about "something new coming from the Mr. Show gang in the new year."[24]W/ Bob & David premiered on November 13, 2015.[25]

Characters

Odenkirk and Cross mostly avoided using recurring characters a la Saturday Night Live,[26] but some characters made repeat appearances:

A twenty-something slacker. He wants to work at a local museum, though he has few qualifications. He never went by any name during the show.

Three Times One Minus One

David Cross and Bob Odenkirk

An R&B duo from Scarsdale made up of Pootie T. (Cross) and Wolfgang Amadeus Thelonius Von Funkenmeister the XIX 3/4 (Odenkirk). They are sponsored by The WPCBCN ("White People Co-opting Black Culture Network").

^Bob Odenkirk (as told to Henry Owings) (April 29, 2004). "Is Run, Ronnie, Run Overrated? You bet. Here's why". Chunklet (magazine). Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved . Look, people are angry at New Line. Don't be angry at New Line. The only thing New Line did "wrong" was not defend us. But in their defense, they didn't know who we were! ... On the other hand, the person to blame is the director, who knew us, and knew how important we were to our own comedy, and chose to freeze us out, hold us at arm's length and not let us influence the movie nearly on the scale that we should have.